[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 5 (Monday, February 8, 1999)]
[Pages 185-188]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Executive Order 13112--Invasive Species

February 3, 1999

    By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and 
the laws of the United States of America, including the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) 
Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990, as 
amended (16 U.S.C. 4701 et seq.), Lacey Act, as amended (18 U.S.C. 42), 
Federal Plant Pest Act (7 U.S.C. 150aa et seq.), Federal Noxious Weed 
Act of 1974, as amended (7 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.), Endangered Species Act 
of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and other pertinent 
statutes, to prevent the introduction of invasive species and provide 
for their control and to minimize the economic, ecological, and human 
health impacts that invasive species cause, it is ordered as follows:
    Section 1. Definitions.
    (a) ``Alien species'' means, with respect to a particular ecosystem, 
any species, including its seeds, eggs, spores, or other biological 
material capable of propagating that species, that is not native to that 
ecosystem.
    (b) ``Control'' means, as appropriate, eradicating, suppressing, 
reducing, or managing invasive species populations, preventing spread of 
invasive species from areas where they are present, and taking steps 
such as restoration of native species and habitats to

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reduce the effects of invasive species and to prevent further invasions.
    (c) ``Ecosystem'' means the complex of a community of organisms and 
its environment.
    (d) ``Federal agency'' means an executive department or agency, but 
does not include independent establishments as defined by 5 U.S.C. 104.
    (e) ``Introduction'' means the intentional or unintentional escape, 
release, dissemination, or placement of a species into an ecosystem as a 
result of human activity.
    (f) ``Invasive species'' means an alien species whose introduction 
does or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to 
human health.
    (g) ``Native species'' means, with respect to a particular 
ecosystem, a species that, other than as a result of an introduction, 
historically occurred or currently occurs in that ecosystem.
    (h) ``Species'' means a group of organisms all of which have a high 
degree of physical and genetic similarity, generally interbreed only 
among themselves, and show persistent differences from members of allied 
groups of organisms.
    (i) ``Stakeholders'' means, but is not limited to, State, tribal, 
and local government agencies, academic institutions, the scientific 
community, nongovernmental entities including environmental, 
agricultural, and conservation organizations, trade groups, commercial 
interests, and private landowners.
    (j) ``United States'' means the 50 States, the District of Columbia, 
Puerto Rico, Guam, and all possessions, territories, and the territorial 
sea of the United States.
    Sec. 2. Federal Agency Duties. (a) Each Federal agency whose actions 
may affect the status of invasive species shall, to the extent 
practicable and permitted by law,
    (1) identify such actions;
    (2) subject to the availability of appropriations, and within 
Administration budgetary limits, use relevant programs and authorities 
to: (i) prevent the introduction of invasive species; (ii) detect and 
respond rapidly to and control populations of such species in a cost-
effective and environmentally sound manner; (iii) monitor invasive 
species populations accurately and reliably; (iv) provide for 
restoration of native species and habitat conditions in ecosystems that 
have been invaded; (v) conduct research on invasive species and develop 
technologies to prevent introduction and provide for environmentally 
sound control of invasive species; and (vi) promote public education on 
invasive species and the means to address them; and
    (3) not authorize, fund, or carry out actions that it believes are 
likely to cause or promote the introduction or spread of invasive 
species in the United States or elsewhere unless, pursuant to guidelines 
that it has prescribed, the agency has determined and made public its 
determination that the benefits of such actions clearly outweigh the 
potential harm caused by invasive species; and that all feasible and 
prudent measures to minimize risk of harm will be taken in conjunction 
with the actions.
    (b) Federal agencies shall pursue the duties set forth in this 
section in consultation with the Invasive Species Council, consistent 
with the Invasive Species Management Plan and in cooperation with 
stakeholders, as appropriate, and, as approved by the Department of 
State, when Federal agencies are working with international 
organizations and foreign nations.
    Sec. 3. Invasive Species Council. (a) An Invasive Species Council 
(Council) is hereby established whose members shall include the 
Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of 
Defense, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, 
the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Transportation, and the 
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. The Council shall 
be Co-Chaired by the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of 
Agriculture, and the Secretary of Commerce. The Council may invite 
additional Federal agency representatives to be members, including 
representatives from subcabinet bureaus or offices with significant 
responsibilities concerning invasive species, and may prescribe special 
procedures for their participation. The Secretary of the Interior shall, 
with concurrence of the Co-Chairs, appoint an Executive Director of the 
Council and shall provide the staff and administrative support for the 
Council.

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    (b) The Secretary of the Interior shall establish an advisory 
committee under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App., to 
provide information and advice for consideration by the Council, and 
shall, after consultation with other members of the Council, appoint 
members of the advisory committee representing stakeholders. Among other 
things, the advisory committee shall recommend plans and actions at 
local, tribal, State, regional, and ecosystem-based levels to achieve 
the goals and objectives of the Management Plan in section 5 of this 
order. The advisory committee shall act in cooperation with stakeholders 
and existing organizations addressing invasive species. The Department 
of the Interior shall provide the administrative and financial support 
for the advisory committee.
    Sec. 4. Duties of the Invasive Species Council. The Invasive Species 
Council shall provide national leadership regarding invasive species, 
and shall:
    (a) oversee the implementation of this order and see that the 
Federal agency activities concerning invasive species are coordinated, 
complementary, cost-efficient, and effective, relying to the extent 
feasible and appropriate on existing organizations addressing invasive 
species, such as the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force, the Federal 
Interagency Committee for the Management of Noxious and Exotic Weeds, 
and the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources;
    (b) encourage planning and action at local, tribal, State, regional, 
and ecosystem-based levels to achieve the goals and objectives of the 
Management Plan in section 5 of this order, in cooperation with 
stakeholders and existing organizations addressing invasive species;
    (c) develop recommendations for international cooperation in 
addressing invasive species;
    (d) develop, in consultation with the Council on Environmental 
Quality, guidance to Federal agencies pursuant to the National 
Environmental Policy Act on prevention and control of invasive species, 
including the procurement, use, and maintenance of native species as 
they affect invasive species;
    (e) facilitate development of a coordinated network among Federal 
agencies to document, evaluate, and monitor impacts from invasive 
species on the economy, the environment, and human health;
    (f) facilitate establishment of a coordinated, up-to-date 
information-sharing system that utilizes, to the greatest extent 
practicable, the Internet; this system shall facilitate access to and 
exchange of information concerning invasive species, including, but not 
limited to, information on distribution and abundance of invasive 
species; life histories of such species and invasive characteristics; 
economic, environmental, and human health impacts; management 
techniques, and laws and programs for management, research, and public 
education; and
    (g) prepare and issue a national Invasive Species Management Plan as 
set forth in section 5 of this order.
    Sec. 5. Invasive Species Management Plan. (a) Within 18 months after 
issuance of this order, the Council shall prepare and issue the first 
edition of a National Invasive Species Management Plan (Management 
Plan), which shall detail and recommend performance-oriented goals and 
objectives and specific measures of success for Federal agency efforts 
concerning invasive species. The Management Plan shall recommend 
specific objectives and measures for carrying out each of the Federal 
agency duties established in section 2(a) of this order and shall set 
forth steps to be taken by the Council to carry out the duties assigned 
to it under section 4 of this order. The Management Plan shall be 
developed through a public process and in consultation with Federal 
agencies and stakeholders.
    (b) The first edition of the Management Plan shall include a review 
of existing and prospective approaches and authorities for preventing 
the introduction and spread of invasive species, including those for 
identifying pathways by which invasive species are introduced and for 
minimizing the risk of introductions via those pathways, and shall 
identify research needs and recommend measures to minimize the risk that 
introductions will occur. Such recommended measures shall provide for a 
science-based process to evaluate risks associated with introduction and 
spread of invasive species and a coordinated and systematic risk-based 
process to

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identify, monitor, and interdict pathways that may be involved in the 
introduction of invasive species. If recommended measures are not 
authorized by current law, the Council shall develop and recommend to 
the President through its Co-Chairs legislative proposals for necessary 
changes in authority.
    (c) The Council shall update the Management Plan biennially and 
shall concurrently evaluate and report on success in achieving the goals 
and objectives set forth in the Management Plan. The Management Plan 
shall identify the personnel, other resources, and additional levels of 
coordination needed to achieve the Management Plan's identified goals 
and objectives, and the Council shall provide each edition of the 
Management Plan and each report on it to the Office of Management and 
Budget. Within 18 months after measures have been recommended by the 
Council in any edition of the Management Plan, each Federal agency whose 
action is required to implement such measures shall either take the 
action recommended or shall provide the Council with an explanation of 
why the action is not feasible. The Council shall assess the 
effectiveness of this order no less than once each 5 years after the 
order is issued and shall report to the Office of Management and Budget 
on whether the order should be revised.
    Sec. 6. Judicial Review and Administration. (a) This order is 
intended only to improve the internal management of the executive branch 
and is not intended to create any right, benefit, or trust 
responsibility, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or equity 
by a party against the United States, its agencies, its officers, or any 
other person.
    (b) Executive Order 11987 of May 24, 1977, is hereby revoked.
    (c) The requirements of this order do not affect the obligations of 
Federal agencies under 16 U.S.C 4713 with respect to ballast water 
programs.
    (d) The requirements of section 2(a)(3) of this order shall not 
apply to any action of the Department of State or Department of Defense 
if the Secretary of State or the Secretary of Defense finds that 
exemption from such requirements is necessary for foreign policy or 
national security reasons.
                                            William J. Clinton
The White House,
February 3, 1999.

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., February 5, 
1999]

Note: This Executive order was published in the Federal Register on 
February 8.